The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-23
BEECHER'S WAYS.
Interesting Facts Concerning the Private
Lifa of the Plymouth Pastor.

Life of the Plymouth Pastor.
Thomas G. Sherman. in BROOKLYN Citizen.
He was sued several times for money by peo-
pie who thought they had claims against him.
dollar; for it is needless to say that he never
disputed any just debt But 1t was easy to i'm
pose upon his generosity, and to persuade him
that he had injured anyone who claimed to have
suffered any wrong. On one occasion we al
lowed him to have private interview with a
gentleman who claimed certain sum of money
from him, and be retired from that interview in
most cheerful frame of mind, assuring US that
he had arrived at a very reasonable settlement,
subject to our approval This settlement proved
to be an agreement on his part, in case we ap
proved, to pay a certain sum Of money with in
terest for quite number of years. He had
never thought OK calculating the interest. and
was perfectly astonished when he learned that
it nearly doubled the sum which had been mon
toned. OF course we refused to allow him to
enter into any such arrangement, and in the end
it was conclusively proved that ne Gid not owe q
single dollar, and that. SO far from the parties in
question having lost any money by him, they
had in reality made large sum-
ut is not surprising that with all his large
income, he left comparatively little behind him.
bis name did not appear for larger sums in pub
JIG subscriptions than did the name of 9th ers
whose incomes were much smaller, and many
who tried to extract money from him under
various charitable pretenses found him able to
say no with great decision. But his impulses
OF charity ana generosity were continually ap-
pealed to with unfaiing success. 1t was not
difficult for him to give, but it was hard for him
to withhold from giving. Many thousands of
dollars every year were given by him in the
ways OF kindness concerning which the public
knew nothing, and his most intimate friends
only learned partially and incidentally; indeed,
he had himself very faint idea at the end Of
the year how much he had thus given, or in
what direction he had given it.
1T is we'll known by those who are familiar
vDtfH <b4 Is Ill vk,O
are gifted with large hearts and powers OF elo-
quence, and especially Of great preachers, that
multitude OF half insane people are drawn
toward them, as moths are drawn toward a can
die. Of such Mr. Beecher had his full share.
In the days of his unclouded prosperity they
used to infest his prayermeetings. and, while
his annoyance must have been very great, his
patience seemed almost unlimited. He could
not bear to speak severely to them. Once he
was unfortunate as to say kind word about
the first effort of such character and tha poor
man was accordingly so elated that he spoke
regularly every week, always saying inst the
same thing. The nuisance was SO great that the
deacons appealed to Mr.. Beecher to repress the
man, but he never could use the neces sary
severity. Some officers of the church
| labored with the poor fellow in private. but al
| in vain and at last they had to sit by him and
| fairly hold him down, and finally exclude him
| from the meeting. This character was followed
| by a female crank, who also spoke regularly, the
| only variety in her remarks being that she
| seemed to have capacity for saying something
| more absurd and unsuitable to the occasion each
| time she opened her mouth; and at last she
| reused Mr.. Beecher to the severest reproo
| which he ever uttered Just after she had
closed one of her usual pointless harangues, Mr.
| Beecher said, with the utmost gravity: Never
| theless, / believe in women speaking in meet
| ing He made not another word OF comment
| but the audience were of course, convulsed with
| silent laughter.
| "a very large part. if not the whole of Mr.
| Beechers trouble arose from partially insan,
| persons, whose men tai defects were not suffi
| GENTLY marked to warn him of their real nat
| ure, and were never sufficiently developed t.
enable the public in general to appreciate them
| 1t may be possible at some remote day to civ
| An interior history Of his life. which will full
| explain the compile atons in which he was in
volved by circumstances of this kind but it can
| not Re done for many years to come No on
| but a>haf-inspired poet. combining the insieh
| of a seer with the wisdom of a sage, can ever d
justice to the inward life and interior history Q
| Henry Ward Beecher.